The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
by PickledMirror
Summary: It's December! That means it's time for fluffy Christmas Phan with hopefully enough holiday cheer to warm all your cold, dead hearts. A collection of Phan oneshots, updated every now and then to brighten up your lives with a bit of gooey holiday goodness. And with that, festive wishes to all, and to all a good...night..? ***ON HIATUS
1. A Cold December Night

**A Cold December Night**

* * *

"I want something that lasts forever  
so kiss me on this cold December night."

- _Cold December Night_ , Michael Bublè

* * *

Summer is bonfire smoke and sunshine and freshly cut lawn, popsicles and road trips and singing in the car on the way to the family vacation. Summer is crop tops with tanned stomachs and flip flops smacking on the sunbaked ground. Summer is children shouting at waterparks and teenagers laughing at that sketchy gas station down the street. Summer is hot air and sunsets, cloudgazing in the park and peoplewatching at the mall with an ice cream cone. Summer is Christmas lights in the middle of July and late nights on the beach. Summer is footprints on the sand and iced lemonades from the stand two blocks away run by the neighbor's daughters. Summer is sunglasses with smudged lenses. Summer is carousels and seashells, sunrises and the dusting of feet against the pool floor. Summer is flirting at parties and laughter at too-awkward dates attempting to achieve that perfect summer aesthetic on a rooftop. Summer is young love and vivid romance. Summer is bright and warm and pure and not at all hypothermia-inducing and freezing and heartbreaking and cruel.

Unlike winter.

Winter is like a slap in the face with a hand made of frozen steel. Sure, there were the chilly winds of autumn to prepare you for the colder months, but it was all pretty colors and cable knit sweaters and pumpkin spice. Winter, instead, is _brutal_. Winter is brutal and cold, both symbolically and literally. Surely nothing good can come out of such harsh months.

Which was exactly what Daniel Howell was thinking on the cold December night he, literally, ran into the love of his life.

Daniel, aka Dan, Howell could appreciate winter. How could he not, with festive themed drinks at Starbucks and Christmas music and cozy jumpers? But his feelings on winter stopped there. He vaguely appreciated the season, and that was all. Really, he found the cold of London unfavorable and, frankly, irritating. All it ever did was cause him to grow irritated as he would have to wear excess clothes. Apparently, feeling as puffy as a marshmallow can really put a damper on anyone's, especially Dan's, view of winter.

He supposed, however, there were perks of winter. (Quite a lot, actually, though it took a rather long time for Dan to admit it.) There was the occasional dusting of light snow (this is London, after all) and Christmas lights _everywhere_. There was ice skating and hot chocolate in Styrofoam cups held by hands in thick mittens, and more Christmas lights. There was the beautiful London Eye, surrounded by trees bedecked with, you guessed it, lights. There were mall Santa Clauses and Saint Nicks, and bustling shoppers preparing for the 25th. Wrapping paper and Christmas treats and crowded streets were abundant. There was the advent calendars and the big Christmas tree outside the Houses of Parliament, and laughing, smiling, festive children.

But Dan wasn't thinking about any of that in the middle of that December, because it was _cold_ , dammit, and he just wanted to go home.

 _Just a few more blocks_ , he was chanting in his head. Over and over and over again. _Just a few more blocks. Just a few more blocks._

Dan, being a ridiculously tall man, had his shoulders tucked inward and his head down in an attempt to be compact and small. Sadly, all he was accomplishing was (still) getting squashed and also in other people's ways.

Dan had been at some sort of awkward midday get-together with a selected group of mutual acquaintances. The only person he actually knew personally was the host, and even her he didn't particularly enjoy the company of. Everyone else there didn't seem to know each other either, so the whole things was an awkward mess. He doubted any one of them wanted to be there, and no one had even spiked the eggnog to make things a _tad_ more interesting. No amount of excessive Christmas lights and too-loud holiday music could change what an unfavorable failure the whole situation had been. Luckily, it had ended around six, so he could finally escape the agonizingly dull event in the cramped flat to go home to his small but quiet and homey flat.

But he hadn't thought the whole thing through.

He had had a friend drop him off at the flat around two in the afternoon, but only because he had been heading that way anyway and really they weren't super great of friends. They were distantly friendly and that was basically it. Dan didn't even have his number. So. He had no way of contacting his previous ride, and there was _no way_ in _hell_ Dan was going to ask one of the strangers from the party for a lift. He knew how crowded the buses would be because of the holiday season, and he convinced himself taking the tube would take away from his festive mood. He wasn't even _in_ a festive mood.

But Dan, of course, listened to his irrational logic and began the long walk towards home.

Obviously, he quickly grew annoyed with the scratchiness of his scarf as the cool December winds pushed it against him and the on-a-mission holiday shoppers that pushed against him even as he shrunk himself down. He refused, however, to find a quicker and easier way back to his flat, for he would damage his own pride if he were to weaken against simply just the cold and people of London. He refused to give up, even if he regretted walking nearly as soon as he left his friend's building.

So, with his shrinking mechanism, with his head down and avoiding all eye contact, he evidently didn't see the dark haired man unknowingly and rapidly approaching him.

The dark haired man was just as tall as Dan, and seemed to be doing the exact same thing as he was. And they plowed right into each other.

"Jesus _Christ_!" Dan cursed, stumbling back from the collision. His head had slammed into something-some _one_ -and his already sour mood was quickly declining. He glared upward, preparing himself for a quick tongue lashing to whatever imbecile who hadn't seen the _six-foot-tall_ man in front of themselves, but suddenly he found himself speechless.

Those were some _nice_ eyes.

A person who, also, as it seemed, was a six-foot-tall man, stared back at him in shock and surprise with ridiculously pretty blue eyes and black fringe framing a pale face.

Bloody _hell_.

"I'm so sorry!" the man quickly stammered, thrusting his arms out in an apologetic gesture. "Are you alright?"

Dan could only stare blankly at the stranger. Who was, huh, look at that, staring slightly quizzically at Dan. _Of course he is, dumbass_! He thought to himself in disdain. _Say something!_

"I, uh, yes. Fine. I am, I mean. I'm fine. I mean, you're fine. I mean, are you fine? Well, you're _fine_ -I mean!-Are you alright!" he wanted to hide in a hermit shell and never be seen again. _That didn't even sound like a question_. "Ehem. Are you alright as well?" he finally was able to out. After mentally punching himself. Repeatedly.

The man, who Dan noticed had a deliciously Northern voice- _deliciously? What the hell, Dan_?-laughed. "I'm perfectly fine." He responded. His cheeks were red and his eyes were bright and Dan decided that things like that were _exactly_ the reason he never went outside.

"Well, er, sorry again. Have a good day!" the stranger blurted after a horrendously long and uncomfortable moment of silence, and attempted to go around him. As expected, as in every awkward situation like that to ever conspire, Dan attempted to go around the other man as well. In the same direction. And almost ran into him. _Again_.

And so began the awkward dance of trying to go around each other, consisting of two introverted men who really just both wanted to be going home and were regretting ever even leaving in the first place.

Embarrassed and most likely fake laughs ensued from the whole situation, and the two men were finally able to part. Dan grimaced, the blue-eyed stranger smiled cheerfully, and both were able to carry on their ways.

And so they did, walking briskly in opposite directions. Dan, however, just couldn't quite shake the feeling that the stranger had been significant somehow, nor could he forget the way his blue eyes had seemed to bore into him and break into the depths of his very soul.

It was probably the cold talking.

Right?

* * *

Phil Lester was full of jitters.

Typically, Phil Lester did not simply _get_ the jitters out of the blue. Sure, he could be jittery, just like he could be excitable or bouncy or enthusiastic or hyper. But he didn't get jitters.

At least, not randomly.

He got nervous about talking in front of people he didn't know, and speaking to large crowds gave him anxiety. But he didn't get the uneasy pacing and freaking-out kind of thoughts that he, for some "unknown" reason, was getting that December night.

He paced the length of his small living room, trying so very hard to convince himself he didn't know why he was feeling that way. He didn't know why his heart was beating at an unbalanced speed, or why he was full of energy. He didn't know why his brain was so being so ridiculously hyperactive.

But he really, truly, deeply, did.

He couldn't get that curly haired stranger out of his head.

They had interacted maybe for a minute before going their own ways, so there was absolutely no reason Phil's mind should have lingered on him. But he had just been so _tall_ and _soft_ and _handsome_ with such _warm_ eyes and curly brown _hair_ and Phil really, _really_ wanted to kiss him.

Sadly, the young man knew he'd probably never see him again. It _was_ London, after all.

This cruel logic, however, didn't stop Phil from imagining a preposterous amount of scenarios involving the other boy.

Phil had absolutely no idea what he liked or who he was as a person or even what his name was, but he liked to think he liked video games and anime and cereal as well, and had a personality opposite to Phil's that complimented his perfectly. He built up a whole life for them, filled with laughter and love and so much _happiness_.

He had a warm feeling about the stranger, as if he really _would_ see him again. But even if they did somehow meet again, what's to say he would be _anything_ like what Phil built him up as in his head?

Phil really did want to see him again, though actually it was rather unjustified.

He continued to pace.

* * *

Days passed, and Christmas Eve was fast to come. The holidays were in full swing by the next time Dan went for a walk in the middle of chilly, crowded, lovely London.

The young man found himself in the midst of a swarm of people, though he shouldn't have been surprised. It was December 24th, after all. But he was actually quite happy that night.

He had got into an argument with his family a few days before, and he greatly disliked human interaction, so he was spending his Christmas alone. But Dan was content, and with the brightly lit world around him, he didn't feel as alone as one might have thought.

With a gingerbread latte in a red Starbucks cup in hand and a warm black jacket wrapped around him, he was just out to enjoy the happiness of the beautiful city around him.

There were still people about, doing incredibly last-minute shopping for the next morning, along with loners and couples alike who were probably wandering around the city for the exact same reasons as he was. No one tried to talk to him, and he was silent as he strolled along, but he was happy. Dan smiled, really and truly smiled.

As he walked, he caught sight of a happy couple on a bench. They were both dusted with the wispy snowflakes that had begun to drift lightly about, and they were both bundled up in warm winter gear. They had holiday cups, just as Dan did, full of piping hot beverages and wide smiles on both of their faces. Dan's mood dimmed a little then, when he felt an empty tugging inside of his heart.

His eyes stayed locked on the laughing couple, and for far longer than they should have. He was paying absolutely no attention to the path in front of him, and for the second time that month, he ran into a dark haired stranger. And almost screamed because he was so surprised, but noticed the strange familiarity of the boy who had crashed into him.

It was the same one, with the gorgeous blue eyes and Northern accent. The one who he hadn't been able to get out of his head since that fateful collision weeks before. Dan's heart lifted considerably. Instead of apologizing to the other young man and awkwardly speed-walking away (again), Dan just smiled.

"Hi." He breathed. They were nose to nose, and the wide-eyed stranger didn't show any signs of backing up.

"I just keep running into you." The other boy whispered back. Dan grinned, and took a tiny step back just to you know, _keep it cool._

"My name's Dan."

"Phil."

Dan smiled. He just kept smiling. He smiled and smiled and smiled and thought his face mught very well just split into two. "I remember you."

Phil's already wide eyes grew larger then in disbelief. "Me too." He murmured, a slow blush creeping across his face.

Dan opened his mouth to say something, but then, looked up and spotted something that made his heart feel like it was thudding against his ribcage and was going to burst out of his very chest.

Mistletoe.

Phil noticed Dan's uplifted head, and looked up as well. Of course they were standing underneath randomly placed mistletoe. _Of bloody course_.

Dan's thoughts shifted then from a nervous, slightly infatuated wreck to, well, _something_ _else_. He looked back at Phil, whose eyes probably couldn't get any wider. Phil took a deep breath, and said quickly, "I want something that lasts forever, you know, and now this is the most cliché and fanfic-y situation I've ever been in and I can't help but think I should kiss you. For the greater good of the universe, of course. Because that is just what you do in situations like these, when you want something that lasts forever. Like, this is a very important memory in the making."

Dan began to laugh. He was still standing ridiculously close to him, so he lifted his arms up and wrapped them around Phil. Phil automatically wrapped his arms around Dan's waist in response. "I've never thought about it that way. Instead of trying to make memories, I've always just tried to have fun."

Phil's grin took on a whole new light then. "So let's have fun then." He pulled Dan closer. "Can I kiss you?"

Dan didn't reply, and instead closed his eyes and pressed his lips to Phil's.

 _I guess this is my answer,_ Phil couldn't help but think as Dan's lips opened his. He felt like he was flying. Kissing the curly haired stranger was a lot better than he had thought.

Dan had been wrong about winter. Winter could be beautiful and full of warmth and magic too.

* * *

 **A/N: peeps okay yes yes I know that was so grossly overdone and cheesy but tbh that's kind of the point of whatever this thing is? This thing, by the way! This "thing" is gonna be a collection of, like, oneshots about Christmas and Phan and such that I will write every now and then up until December 24** **th** **or 25** **th** **. Because I was in the festive mood and thought the song was v cute. Yeah. So anyways, thank you all for reading this, and I'll see you lovelies soon!**


	2. We just have so much chemis-tree

**We just have so much chemis-tree**

* * *

 **Because who doesn't love puns and Christmas trees and Phan right**

 **amirite or amirite**

* * *

"I love being a third wheel."

Apathy.

"It's so much fun."

Passive-aggressive 'disinterest'..? And some mockery, too.

"This isn't sarcasm."

 _Definitely_ sarcasm.

"No, of course not."

Contempt? Hmm…

"Wow, I am just having _so much fun_ right now."

Ah. There it is.

The two-hour-long pouty, grumpy, toddler-esque grudge, mixed in with a bit of envy and scorn for good measure, was coming plainly to the surface once again.

"It's someone who _works_ here, Dan. Someone who does this for a _living_." Phil quickly interrupted the younger man, turning around in exasperation. Dan, who looked ready to launch into another stream of contemptuous words, snapped his mouth shut into a pout.

The two were attempting to purchase a Christmas tree, finally preparing for the holidays though it was already the middle of December. The probably should have gotten the tree sooner, but _someone_ (cough, Dan) said it'd be more fun once they were more in the festive mood. They did have busy months, though, so it wasn't _entirely_ Dan's fault, but with his pouty attitude, Phil could easily pin the blame on him without remorse.

They were wandering throughout a large lot filled with different trees, all real and pre-cut. Large twinkling bulbs dangled above the trees from where there were strung across light poles. Some trees were even lit up with fairy lights, and a light snow barely there dusted the branches and the ground. Both Dan and Phil were bundled in winter gear, complete with hats, mittens, and, in Phil's case, a bright scarf. A young women was leading them through the winding maze of trees, showing off their specialties and sale items.

It was practically a picturesque moment.

Or, it would have been, if Dan hadn't been _complaining_ _so_ _much_.

The curly haired boy sulked behind Phil with a coffee in his hand and a scowl on his face. He himself was well aware of how childish he was being, but Phil had woke him up at nearly six in the morning to get a tree. _Six!_ At any rate, however, his irritation slowly went from grouchy sleepiness to mild jealousy over how much Phil seemed to enjoy talking to the tree lady. And she clearly had something against Dan. Just because he didn't have any goddamn _tree_ _puns_ like Mr. Sunshine over there didn't mean he wasn't just as capable of holding an interesting conversation about different kinds of tinsel.

 _Tinsel, Dan? Really?_ Dan knew he was being immature, but he really just wanted cuddles and sleep and Phil _not_ to be borderline flirting with the tree lady out in the cold. _Your boyfriend is_ right here _, you know,_ he grumpily thought to Phil as he turned back to the young woman.

He trudged along behind Phil, glaring at the back of his head. Obviously, Dan had specifics for what he wanted in a tree too, but Phil just _had_ to stop to look at every. single. tree.

And then a tree with particularly dark green branches caught his eye.

It was tall and wide simultaneously, and had hazy silver lights draped over its darkened needles. Dan glanced at Phil (who was ignoring him, the little rat) before veering away from him and walking hurriedly towards the newly discovered tree for further examination.

It was bloody perfect.

Dan could just imagine decorating the tree with Phil, sitting in front of it with hot chocolate and some cheesy Christmas movie on in the background with Phil, opening presents with Phil, detangling it after New Year's with Phil, and repeating it the next year once again with Phil and maybe a dog.

There wasn't any other tree in the whole lot that he could imagine such things with. Though it was just simply a tree and Dan was being very melodramatic, there was something about the needles and lights that just held a glorious _purpose_. And that purpose seemed to be turning out to be that of which it would be going back to the flat with Dan and Phil.

As he was looking up at it, envisioning all that the tree could be, a smile began to creep across Dan's face for the first time in hours.

By then, Phil had begun tuning out the tree lady, as she had a strangely pitchy voice that really grated on his nerves after listening to it for over an _hour_. Dan was strangely quiet as well. Phil _had_ , after all, snapped at him, but he wasn't even hearing traces of irritated grumblings under his breath coming from behind him. Not even an "ughhhhhh" or a groan.

Phil turned around. Dan was no longer trailing behind him but was instead, well, _gone_. No footprints nearby, either. Ignoring the rush of panic that shot through his limbs, Phil turned back around and tapped the tree girl on the shoulder. "Sorry, miss, but I think, uh, my boyfriend might have gotten lost."

Her eyes widened, and her mouth snapped shut, whatever she had been on about forgotten. Her head whipped around in surprise, scanning the surrounding trees. Her eyes locked on something behind Phil, and a wave of understanding washed over her round face. Phil turned to see what was so important behind him.

Through an opening in the trees he had somehow missed when he first looked, Phil saw Dan staring at a dark green tree with a wide base and silvery lights. Phil could tell that, objectively, it was a decent tree. Un-objectively, however, it was the best tree in the whole world to Dan.

He was looking at the tree with adoration and excitement painted all over his face, with eyes typically only reserved for Phil. This confused Phil a tad, as it was _literally_ just a tree. But it could've been a giant toad and Phil wouldn't have cared, if it made Dan smile like that.

The tree lady must've agreed. She leaned over and, for some reason, whispered to Phil, "I think you two have found your tree."

Phil began to walk through the opening in the trees. "It's definitely our tree."

Dan turned and smiled even more when he heard Phil approaching, his eye alight with unexplainable joy. Phil smiled back at his boyfriend, confused as to why a tree made him so happy but pleased his irritable mood was nowhere in sight. Despite his previous crankiness, Phil gathered Dan up in his arms and looked at the tree as Dan wrapped his arms around him.

"Where's the tree lady?"

Phil almost laughed. In some terms, it could be considered a laugh, but really it was just a humored release of air. Dan smiled from where he was buried into the folds on Phil's scarf, as though he really had laughed at his simple question. "I think she's getting people to get this tree."

Dan's eyes brightened and he lifted his head, smiling as though he couldn't believe they were actually going to get it. He brushed a chaste kiss against Phil's cheek and turned to look at the tree. "I can just see it all. Isn't it just absolutely perfect?"

Really, Phil had absolutely no idea what Dan was talking about, but he grinned and nodded anyways. "Perfect."

* * *

 **A/N: Okie dokie so! I am so sorry how _horrendously_ late this is! My sister stole my laptop (how rude right) so I, obviously, couldn't exactly get much done. But here I am now! I have like fifteen other ideas for this fic so hopefully more to come soon! So yes okay that is all goodbye lovelies! See you all in a bit!**


	3. Christmas Lights

**Christmas Lights**

* * *

But compared to your eyes

Nothing shines

quite as bright

- _Miserable At Best_ , Mayday Parade

* * *

Christmas lights are a funny thing.

They have a beauty about them that really brings out that holiday spirit, and they just make everything a tad more festive. Not to mention how much they differ from family to family, person to person. Everyone has a different view on the colorful bulbs, like Cindy Lou Who's mother in The Grinch and her crazy obsession with competing with Martha May, or maybe they remind someone of that guy from Strangers Things. But either way, Christmas lights are kind of a _big_ _deal_.

But there's something else that makes them appear to be a tad "funny".

Eyes.

And not just any eyes, but Dan Howell's eyes.

Everyone talks about Phil's big beautiful blue eyes, which are absolutely wonderful, but Phil himself wondered why there wasn't such a big deal made about Dan's eyes.

Because _damn_. He had some beautiful eyes.

As a human with blue eyes the color of the sky in the winter, he didn't really fully begin to love brown eyes until he fell in love with someone who's had those perfect shade-of-coffee eyes and held more love and life that eyes greener than the leaves of the Amazon. He just appreciated them from a vague distance. Until Dan twittered his way into Phil's world with those ridiculously beautiful eyes.

They glimmered and shone and glistened all with a varying level of brightness, depending on his mood. So many browns, all depending on the location and time of day and all indescribable. Partially because Phil forgot most of the many different shades of the dark color, but also because the beauty of Dan's eyes were full of so many things other than the color brown.

But the sight of Dan's eyes in the glow of Christmas lights rendered Phil near speechless.

It was just the beginning of December, but the tree was up and the lights were soon to follow.

Typically, one wouldn't typically wait until nighttime to put up the holiday decorations, but Phil had made Gamingmas decorating a priority and additionally it had taken them ages to put up that ridiculous tree.

Luckily, they were finally getting around to the lights. Even if it was almost nine at night.

Phil was so proud of what he and his boyfriend had accomplished that evening. Lights and decorations and a tree just for them, out of the sight of their subscribers, were all up, and Phil was feeling ridiculously festive. So ridiculously festive, in fact, that he decided hot chocolate was just an absolute _must_ for the evening.

As he tutted around the kitchen, humming the tune of a familiar Christmas jingle, Dan wandered back into the lounge. The tree was there and looking wonderful, but the lights were what really grabbed his attention.

They were _everywhere_. They looked cheesy and cluttered but not tacky and overwhelming, and Dan found himself smiling at the sight of his boyfriend's work.

Dan had helped with the tree, but had meandered away (tumblr was beckoning) once all the ornaments were up and Phil began detangling the strings upon strings of lights.

But Dan came back when he heard a few cups clanging in the kitchen to see where he ran off to, and was pleasantly surprised upon arriving back at the scene to find that looked as though a lighting shop and been murdered and its remains were splatted around the room haphazardly. In a good way, of course.

By then, as Dan looked around in what could be awe, Phil pattered back to the lounge with two mugs of hot chocolate and marshmallows. Really, it was quite a bad idea to have them filled to the brim so close to the edge of the mug, especially since he almost dropped them when Dan turned around.

Something about the lights just lit Dan up, and his eyes shone brighter than they had in an incredibly long time in the glow of the colorful glows. His curly dark hair glinted ever so slightly in the lights. A smile was stretched across his face, and his expression was one of pure joy. Phil thought it was the handsomest he had ever seen Dan.

Christmas lights are funny that way.

 **OKAY PEEPS I'M SORRY I'M SO SLOW  
this was honestly written in a rush and **_**so much**_ **has been going on lately, but I haven't been as devoted to this fic as originally planned. I apologize for any editing mistakes (this really was written last minute okay) but I hope you found this short chapter sweet and I'll see all you guys later!**


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